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House Democrats Want To Offer Tax Break To STEM Students

Last updated on Monday, January 13, 2014

(STATEHOUSE) - One thousand Indiana college graduates a year would be exempt from income tax under a proposal from House Democrats.

Minority Leader Scott Pelath's bill seeks to slow Indiana's "brain drain" by offering a deal to the state's top science, technology, engineering and math students: if you stay in the state for five years after college, you pay no taxes for that time.

Pelath (D-Michigan City) argues that could be a powerful incentive for the kind of workers states most want contributing to their economy. And he suggests Republicans should embrace a Democratic offer to use the GOP playbook, relying on tax cuts to boost economic growth.

Governor Pence and House and Senate Republicans are in the earliest stages of negotiations over proposed cuts in the business personal property tax or the corporate income tax. The Commission for Higher Education would work out the details of how to rank the top thousand students.